WASHINGTON — Ohio farmers tried to stay optimistic Wednesday as House Agriculture leaders gave them conflicting views on whether Congress will pass a new farm bill before this year's crops are planted.

        “It looks real difficult,” said Rep. John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and vice chairman of the committee. “There is really no consensus on what direction we ought to be going.”

        But Rep. Charles Stenholm of Texas assured the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation members, in Washington for their annual lobbying trip, that they have nothing to worry about.

        “We should be able to complete our work before the end of next week,” said Mr. Stenholm, the committee's ranking Democrat.

        Farm groups have been pushing lawmakers to approve a compromise bill by March 22, the beginning of a two-week congressional recess, so the legislation could apply to this year's crops, most of which will be planted in mid-April.

        “We're going to be planting our crops in the next few weeks or months without a farm bill in place,” said Bob Peterson, federation vice president and a Fayette County farmer of corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, hogs and beef cattle. “It comes down to planning.”

        The state's producers have been making their annual pilgrimage to Washington for several years, but many say their agenda has never been more urgent.

        “We are on hold right now,” said Kirsten Kimley, who runs a 1,200-acre corn, soybean and wheat farm in south-central Ohio with her husband, Kelley.

        “The banks are not loaning money because they don't know what the government is going to do,” she said. “Our lives are totally dependent on what other people think we should be doing.”

        The 100-plus farmers, whose interests range from poultry and hogs to wheat, soybeans and corn, talked to lawmakers about agriculture and energy topics. They also hit Capitol Hill to do some old-fashioned lobbying.

        The Republican-controlled House passed its version of the massive $73.5 billion farm bill last July; the Senate passed its version earlier this year, but it contains a $6.1 billion overrun that must be corrected.

        A House-Senate conference committee, which includes Mr. Stenholm and Mr. Boehner, was scheduled to meet for the first time on Wednesday to reach a compromise.

        Most Ohio farmers prefer the House version because the Senate measure imposes what they consider severe limits on government price supports on commodities. Many of the Ohio farmers criticized Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who proposed the amendment.

        “We're concerned that the limits will force farmers to switch crops,” said Jac Dill, a Franklin County farmer who manages 2,600 acres of corn and soybeans.

        Mr. Dill said the market price for his crops likely would drop if cotton and peanut farmers decided to grow corn and soybeans also to avoid the proposed $275,000-per-farm limit on subsidies.

        Under current law, farmers can receive some subsidies in unlimited amounts, and they could continue to do so under the farm bill's House version.

        If the new 10-year farm bill isn't approved before planting starts, Mr. Boehner said, Congress likely would pass an emergency spending bill to continue existing price supports through this growing season.

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